Inspiration from a 19th century book

I shared some images with friends and relatives, and asked them to tell me what first came to mind when they saw them. Here are some of the responses:-

'Nazgul (Ringwraith) from 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy'

'Sigil' or 'artwork from fantasy video games'

'Snowflakes' or 'alien spaceships from Sci-Fi movies'

When I later told them what these images actually represented, they were as surprised as I was when I first saw the paintings in a book a few weeks ago.

These are Radiolarians, which are microscopic zooplankton found in the world's seas and oceans.

Several thousands of Radiolarians were first painted and described by Ernst Haeckel in the 19th century. He later published Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms of Nature) which features not only marine creatures but also terrestrial. The plates are simply stunning. I think they are unique in their arrangement and artistic depiction of real-life organisms. A friend concurs that these paintings bring to mind some other great naturalists and artists over the centuries. To name just one: Maria Sibylla Merian. Their art continues to delight and to inspire us even today.

Here are some other plates from Haeckel's 'Art Forms of Nature'. I wonder whether these were the inspiration for Hollywood films?

 Haeckel's jellyfish as the Medusa-like Sentinels from 'The Matrix' trilogy

Haeckel's reptiles as Dragons from the Harry Potter films

Or perhaps influencing art and architecture as here:

Haeckel's jellyfish as gilded chandeliers and ceiling decorations

Plates of other marine life-forms ...

Haeckel is a forgotten figure today. In scientific circles his legacy is tarnished for various reasons. Yet in his time he was celebrated as a naturalist, artist, philosopher and scientist. A most unusual, yet quite wonderful documentary, 'Proteus', tells us of his life, art, beliefs and his work. See it if you can.

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